Look to Blue Pt 1. : Wearing the Evil Eye

We are proud to introduce our Look to Blue series. This series of posts will describe our relationship with the color blue and its connotations. Blue has many interpretations, and our goal is to provide some practical, beautiful content to get you thinking about everything from makeup ideas to athletic-wear. We’re infusing blue into everything we do for the rest of February, and we hope you’re into the results.

“You might as well act as if objects had the colors, The Encyclopedia says. –Well, it is as you please. But what would it look like to act otherwise?” -Maggie Nelson, Bluets

VOL. 1: WEARING THE EVIL EYE

The magic of makeup is that it can essentially act as a talisman—it is a guiding force in terms of confidence, power and protection. There’s something to be said about perpetuating benevolence and protecting those around you on campus through vivid color and intense gazes. If you’re feeling like bad luck has headed your way one too many times, look to blue, blue, blue.

The notion of the evil eye has been mentioned in the Koran, the Bible, and ancient Roman and Greek texts, and is operative all around the Mediterranean. It spans Christian, Jewish, and Muslim societies, sharing a folk belief that receiving the cold look of the “evil eye” will result in a magical curse, invested with negative witchcraft. This curse can end in illness, misfortune, and even death.

Luckily for us, talismans have been created all around the world in shades of royal blue, to protect against the curse of the evil eye. For SLC students, embodying the vivid blue protection from the evil eye can ward off bad luck in our lives–whether that may be forgetting to back up our computers and losing our conference work or spraining our ankles running up the Bates hill!

We subscribe to the belief that wearing vivid blue eye shadow is one way to project positive, etherial qualities to ward off the powerful malevolence of the evil eye’s curse. Retaining positive energy on campus is especially important in February, when many students become depressed by the return of schoolwork and piles of slush. The power of bright blue can pull you out of your February funk and encourage you to be sensitive and giving towards your peers on campus.

Hannah Gottlieb-Graham is a sophomore at SLC studying dance, art history and women’s studies. In her spare time she enjoys writing articles for Surface Magazine and College Fashion, cooking vegetarian cuisine, shooting film and making her own perfume. Her weaknesses are Wes Anderson, architecture magazines and good champagne.